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A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial Involving Financial Incentives to Facilitate Hepatitis C Treatment Uptake Among People Who Inject Drugs: ETHOS Engage Study

Authors :
Alison D. Marshall
Anna Conway
Evan B. Cunningham
Heather Valerio
David Silk
Maryam Alavi
Shane Tillakeratne
Alexandra Wade
Thao Lam
Krista Zohrab
Adrian Dunlop
Craig Connelly
Victoria Cock
Carina Burns
Charles Henderson
Michael Christmass
Gregory J. Dore
Jason Grebely
Source :
Viruses, Vol 16, Iss 11, p 1763 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to establish the feasibility of implementing a larger RCT designed to evaluate the effect of financial incentives on HCV treatment initiation among persons receiving opioid agonist therapy and/or who have injected drugs in the prior six months. ETHOS Engage is an observational cohort of participants recruited from drug treatment and needle and syringe programs in Australia. Among 11 drug and alcohol clinics, participants who were HCV RNA-positive were randomized (1:1) to receive standard of care or a AUD $60 gift card at treatment initiation. Regarding feasibility, 100% (57/57) of eligible participants enrolled to take part. Twenty-eight participants were randomised to the financial incentive arm (AUD $60 gift card) plus standard of care and 29 participants to the standard of care arm. In this pilot RCT (n = 57), median age was 42 years (IQR 37–49), 63% were male (n = 36), 35% Indigenous (n = 20) and 36% (n = 21) reported injecting drugs daily in the past month. Twelve weeks post-study enrolment, 11 (39%) participants in the financial incentive arm and 17 (59%) participants in the standard of care arm initiated HCV treatment. Findings indicate high feasibility among people who inject drugs to be randomised to receive financial incentives to initiate HCV treatment.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19994915
Volume :
16
Issue :
11
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Viruses
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.74c3f6fa1d994855bfc1b27da952be69
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/v16111763